World
12:45, 30-Jan-2018
Swiss mummy believed to be a relative of British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson
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The female mummy, which was discovered underneath a Basel churchyard as a wealthy 18th-century Swiss woman in 1975, is believed to be a relative of British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.
Although it seems like a joke, researchers have spent the past decades working on the identity of this woman and finally proved she is the great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother of Boris Johnson.
The body survived in a mummified state because she had died of mercury poisoning which had preserved the corpse. But there was no gravestone, or plaque to indicate her identity.
It remained a mystery until last year when scientists from the Natural History Museum of Basel extracted DNA from the mummy’s big toe and compared it to genetic material from an 89-year-old Rosemary Probst-Ryhiner, who provided a saliva sample.
An artist’s impression of how Anna Catharina Bischoff may have looked in life, prepared for the SRF TV show about the discovery. /SRF TV Photo
An artist’s impression of how Anna Catharina Bischoff may have looked in life, prepared for the SRF TV show about the discovery. /SRF TV Photo
Not only was it a match, showing that the woman must have been a Bischoff, but also further archival research showed she was Anna Catharina Bischoff, who died in 1787, affected by syphilis while caring for patients.
Anna Catharina had seven children but only two survived childhood. One daughter, also called Anna, married Christian Hubert Baron Pfeffel von Kriegelstein.
Boris Johnson and his father Stanley Johnson. /AFP Photo
Boris Johnson and his father Stanley Johnson. /AFP Photo
Five generations later, Marie Luise von Pfeffel married Stanley Fred Williams. Their daughter, Yvonne, married Osman Wilfred Johnson Kemal. Together, they had a son, named Stanley Johnson, who is the father of Boris.
The story of how researchers uncovered Bischoff’s identity and descendent has been detailed on Swiss TV, in an episode of science documentary series Einstein.
On hearing of his new relation, Boris Johnson wrote on Twitter: “Very excited to hear about my late great grand 'mummy' - a pioneer in sexual health care. Very proud.”
People are amazed by this story and made jokes about the incredible relationship between the mummy and Mr Johnson on Twitter.
